Maersk Line expects Mexico to deliver another strong year of trade for 2018, the world’s largest container shipping company said in its Mexico Trade Report . Mexico’s trade growth is expected to be boosted by forecasts of 3 percent global trade growth in 2018, robust U.S. economic performance, the FIFA World Cup and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Maersk said. In addition, Mexico’s booming automobile manufacturing industry shows...

A broad-based global economic expansion is expected to accelerate this year and next, but risks remain in the form of rising trade tensions, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) latest Interim Economic Outlook. The OECD raised its projections for global economic growth in 2018 and 2019 to 3.9 percent each, the highest since 2011 and 0.3 percentage points higher than the group’s previous estimate, published in November 2017. &nbsp...

Global transport volumes of containerized cargo grew 5.1 percent to more than 13.8 million TEUs in January 2018 compared with the same month a year ago, boosted by strong growth in exports from Asia and imports to North America, according to the latest data from industry analyst Container Trade Statistics (CTS). Containerized exports from Far East Asia increased 6.2 percent year-over-year to 8.1 million TEUs for the month, while import volumes were relatively steady, slipping ju...

Import volumes at major retail container ports in the United States grew 1.8 percent to 1.73 million TEUs in January 2018 compared with the same month a year ago, according to the latest monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. On a sequential basis, U.S. container imports slipped 0.2 percent from December 2017, according to the report, as a result of annual Asian factory shutdowns for Lunar New Year. The NRF...

The Port of New York and New Jersey handled 585,864 TEUs in January 2018, surpassing the previous monthly record set in January 2017 by 13.2 percent, according to the most recent data from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). The January cargo volumes were also the fifth highest of any month in port history, according to PANYNJ. Loaded imports soared 18.5 percent to 309,003 TEUs for the month, while loaded exports ticked up 1.7 percent to 112,839 ...

Port of Virginia terminals handled 218,729 TEUs of containerized cargo in February 2018, a decrease of 0.7 percent from the same month a year ago, according to the most recent data from the mid-Atlantic port. Loaded container imports grew 3.6 percent to 100,370 TEUs compared with February 2017, but were offset by a 4.3 percent slide in laden exports to 82,104 TEUs. Inbound empty container volumes plummeted 70.8 percent to 2,099 TEUs for the month, while outbound empty container ...

Total combined U.S. freight railroad traffic in February 2018 increased 3.3 percent to 2.13 million carloads and intermodal units compared with the same month a year ago, according to the latest data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR). U.S. railroads saw carload shipments slip 0.3 percent year-over-year to 1.03 carloads for the month, but the decline in carloads was more than offset by a 6.9 percent increase in intermodal traffic to 1.1 million containers and trail...

Global airfreight volumes rose 8 percent in January 2018 compared with the same month the previous year, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Demand growth continued to outpace capacity, which increased 4.2 percent year-over-year for the month. IATA attributed the continued positive momentum in air cargo primarily to “buoyant” global manufacturing demand, but warned that recently announced U.S. import tariffs on steel...

The North American freight market continued to show “increasingly positive” growth in January 2018, according to the latest Cass Freight Index Report. Shipment volumes and expenditures extended a run of year-over-year increases that began 16 and 13 months ago, respectively, with volumes up 12.5 percent and spending up 14.2 percent compared with January 2017. On a sequential basis, shipment volumes slipped 1.7 percent and expenditures fell 1.8 percent co...

United States gross domestic product (GDP) - the broadest measure of a nation’s overall economic health - grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the “second” estimate from the Department of Commerce. The fourth quarter growth rate was revised downward from the department’s “advance” estimate, in which it projected a 2.6 percent growth rate. U.S. GDP grew at a 3.2 percent rate in the third quarter of 2017, 3.1 percent in the second quart...

The total value of cross-border trade between the United States and its partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which include Canada and Mexico, jumped another 7.4 percent year-over-year to $93.5 billion in December 2017, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). NAFTA trade flows have been on a tear of late, posting year-over-year growth in each of the last 14 months for which after-...

International trade in goods grew 4.5 percent year-over-year in 2017, according to the CPB Netherlands Bureau of Economic Policy Analysis. Global trade volumes grew 4.5 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year, according to the latest World Trade Monitor report from the CPB Netherlands Bureau of Economic Policy Analysis. “2017 turned out to be a remarkably good year for world trade,” the report said. In advanced economies, which include the United States, th...

Intermodal rates grew another 5 percent in January 2018 compared to the same month the previous year, the sixteenth consecutive year-over-year increase, according to the latest Cass Intermodal Price Index, which measures all-in per-mile costs. According to Cass, last month’s reading of 141.4 represented an all-time high for the index, and intermodal rates appear poised to continue this growth into 2018, as “pricing momentum appears to be increasing” thanks in part to higher dies...

Growth in domestic U.S. truckload (TL) rates continued to accelerate in January 2018, increasing 6.5 percent compared with the same month a year ago, according to the latest Cass Truckload Linehaul Index. The January growth represents the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year gains for the index, which rose 6.3 percent in December and 6.2 percent in November. The index’s reading of 133.5 for the month fell just short of the record high of 134.5 set in December 2...

Combined container volumes at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma fell 16.7 percent to 250,762 TEUs in January 2018, according to the most recent data from the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), which runs the ports’ collective marine cargo operations. Total international container throughput stood at 207,638 TEUs for the month, a 16.9 percent decrease from January 2017, as imports dropped 22.7 percent to 107,701 TEUs and export volumes slid 9.6 percent to 99,936 TEUs. ...

Domestic truck tonnage growth continued in January 2018, rising 2 percent from the previous month and 8.8 percent year-over-year, according to the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index. In January, the index equaled 111.6, up from 109.4 in December. ATA noted it has recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision, and re-indexed the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally ...

Danish ocean carrier Maersk Line is predicting continued growth in the North American container trade this year as a result of projected increases in global trade and U.S. consumer spending, and the signing of additional free trade agreements in Canada. According to Maersk’s first North America Trade Report, which was released Thursday, the firm is forecasting total U.S. imports and exports to grow in a range of between 2 percent and 4 percent in 2018, and total Canadian trade t...

The EU’s international trade in goods surplus shrank 28 percent to 25 billion euros (U.S. $31.1 billion) in 2017. The European Union’s surplus in international trade in goods narrowed 28 percent to 25 billion euros (U.S. $31.1 billion) in 2017, according to the latest preliminary data from Eurostat . International goods exports from the 28 EU member countries rose 7.7 percent to 1.88 trillion euros for the year, but that growth was offset by an 8.2 percent jump in imports to 1....

Ports covered by the NRF’s Global Port Tracker report handled 20.5 million TEUs of imports in 2017, a year-over-year increase of 7.6 percent. Imports at major retail container ports in the United States are expected to grow 4.9 percent in the first half of 2018, according to the latest monthly Global Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates. The latest projection from NRF comes as ports covered by the Global Port Tracker report handled ...

The U.S. trade deficit - the amount by which the country’s goods and services imports exceeds its exports - widened 12.1 percent to $566 billion in 2017, its highest level since 2008, according to the most recent data from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). In December alone, the goods and services deficit rose 5.4 percent to $53.1 billion compared with the previous month. December exports stood at $203.4 billion, up $3.5 billion from November, but that...

The Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) showed continued growth in container spot rates this week, ticking up 2.9 percent since last Friday’s reading of 858.60 to a reading of 883.59. Since last week, spot rates from Shanghai to North Europe inched up 0.6 percent, from $907 per TEU to $912 per TEU, while spot rates from Shanghai to the Mediterranean rose 3.2 percent, from $772 per TEU to $797 per TEU. Meanwhile, spot rates from S...

Global airfreight demand soared 9 percent year-over-year in 2017, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Global airfreight volumes rose 9 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Demand growth for the year was more than double the 3.6 percent annual growth recorded in 2016 and significantly outpaced capacity growth, which ticked up 3 percent in 2017, the slowe...

The North American freight market showed continued, even accelerating growth in December 2017, and could be poised to reach further record highs in 2018, according to the latest Cass Freight Index Report. Shipment volumes and expenditures extended a run of year-over-year increases that began 15 and 12 months ago, respectively, with volumes up 7.2 percent and spending up 16 percent compared with December 2016. On a sequential basis, shipment volumes slipped 0.3 perce...

The Port of Barcelona set new records for cargo volumes in 2017, the Mediterranean seaport said in a statement translated from the original Catalan. According to port figures, container volumes jumped 32.3 percent year-over-year to nearly 3 million TEUs, helping to boost total cargo traffic 26 percent to over 61 million metric tons for the year. The port attributed the surge in container volumes in part to rapid growth in transshipment, volumes of which were up 137 ...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its global economic growth estimates for the 2017, 2018 and 2019 years. The IMF now estimates global economic output to have grown 3.7 percent last year, 0.1 percentage point faster than previously projected and 0.5 percentage points above the 3.2 percent growth rate seen in 2016, according to the fund’s latest quarterly World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update. The fourth quarter growth represents a continuation and accel...

U.S. GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the “advance” estimate from the Department of Commerce. United States gross domestic product (GDP) - the broadest measure of a nation’s overall economic health - grew at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the "advance" advance estimate from the Department of Commerce. The fourth quarter growth rate was down slightly from a revised 3.2 percent the pre...

U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports continued to capture market share from their West Coast counterparts in 2017, according to London-based maritime shipping consultancy Drewry. Drewry said in the latest edition of its Container Insight Weekly that ports on the East and Gulf coasts saw their import volumes from Asia jump 7.9 percent last year compared to a 1.3 percent growth rate on the West Coast, according to data from PIERS. As a result of the strong growth, U.S. East...

AirBridgeCargo Airlines’ (ABC) airfreight volumes rose 13 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year. AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), the all-cargo subsidiary of Russia's Volga-Dnepr Airlines, saw its airfreight volumes soar 13 percent year-over-year to more than 700,000 metric tons in 2017, according to recent data from the airline. The carrier attributed the strong growth primarily to “the effective realization of its fleet expansion strategy, the development of solutions...

Nearly 76 percent of shippers surveyed expect their shipment volumes to increase in 2018, according to the results of a newly released industry study in which over 1,600 companies involved in the supply chain were surveyed by Tennessee-based freight transportation and supply chain management firm Averitt Express. Meanwhile, about 33 percent of respondents had challenges with customs clearance in 2017, and the number that plan to use rail or air services in 2018 rose by more tha...

Intermodal rates grew 4 percent in December 2017 compared to the same month the previous year, the fifteenth consecutive year-over-year increase, according to the latest Cass Intermodal Price Index, which measures all-in per-mile costs. According to Cass, intermodal rates are poised to continue this growth in 2018, as “pricing momentum appears to be increasing.” “Throughout 2018, we continue to foresee oil trading in the $45 to $65 range and diesel in the $2.50 to $...

Domestic U.S. truckload (TL) rates increased 6.2 percent in December 2017 compared to the previous year, the ninth consecutive month of year-over-year gains, according to the latest Cass Truckload Linehaul Index. Transportation intelligence analyst Cass Information Systems Inc. said the index, which has been tracking TL pricing since 2005, reached a record high of 134.5 for December. The TL Linehaul index had fallen for 13 straight months (from March 2016 through Ma...

The World Container Index (WCI) - a composite of container freight rates on eight major routes to and from the United States, Europe and Asia - is down by 0.2 percent this week to $1,407.58 per 40-foot container (FEU), according to the latest assessment by London-based shipping research and consulting firm Drewry. In addition to the composite index being down by 0.2 percent this week, it is also down 21.5 percent from the same period in 2017. The average composite ...

The Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) ticked up 2.8 percent since last Friday’s reading of 816.58 to a reading of 839.72. Since last week, spot rates from Shanghai to Europe inched up 1 percent, from $888 per TEU to $897 per TEU, while spot rates from Shanghai to the Mediterranean rose 2.8 percent, from $738 per TEU to $759 per TEU. Meanwhile, spot rates from Shanghai to the U.S. West Coast rose 3.3 percent since last week, fro...

The Port of Montreal handled close to 38 million tons of freight in 2017, according to preliminary statistics released by the port Jan. 3. The unaudited figure represents an increase of almost 7 percent in cargo traffic, as well as an historic record, according to the port. The Montreal Port Authority attributed the record growth to major development projects in 2017, including the new Viau Container Terminal, which completed its first full year of operations last ...

Shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 28 million tons in 2017, an increase of 6.4 percent compared to 2016, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA). Last year’s loadings were also 2.1 percent above the trade’s 5-year average, said the association. Loadings from U.S. quarries totaled 23.2 million tons, an increase of 8.4 percent compared to 2016. Shipments from U.S. quarries also passed their 5-year average. Shipments from Canadian quarries tota...

China's Ningbo-Zhoushan Port set a world record for cargo throughput with 1 billion tons handled in 2017, the port announced late last month. On Dec. 27, 2017, the vessel Mary Maersk loaded the last container that pushed the port volumes to record levels. Just two weeks earlier, the port exceeded 900 million tons. The vessel discharged 21,517 TEUs and loaded 1,975 TEUs at the port, before heading to Shanghai, Xiamen, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas and off to Europe via the Suez C...

A record in worldwide air cargo volume that was set in October 2017 has already been broken, according to newly released statistics compiled by industry analyst WorldACD Market Data. November 2017 beat last October by 1.3 percent, WorldACD said Dec. 31, marking the third month in a row that year-over-year yield increase in USD had to be written in double figures, this time, the plus-17.3 percent was the highest since the recovery after the 2009-crisis. The price of...

The Port of New York and New Jersey has set a new monthly record for November for cargo volume activity, the port confirmed Jan. 2, During November 2017, the port handled 566,519 TEUs (323,290 containers in total) of containerized cargo, which was 6.8 percent more than the previous best November on record, November 2016, according to newly released data from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). Of the 566,519 TEUs, the port handled 285,070 ...

The Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has downgraded its third quarter 2017 estimate for U.S. gross domestic product growth by one-tenth of a percentage point, citing “more complete source data.” Real gross domestic product actually increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the third quarter, according to a "third" estimate by the bureau, compared with 3.3 percent in BEA's second analysis released last month. In the second quarter, real ...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) registered the country’s third largest record for American agricultural goods exports, with a value of $140.5 billion for fiscal year 2017, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) said in a statement. The FAS attributed some of this continued growth to reducing overseas trade barriers and increasing promotion for U.S. agricultural goods. “FAS staff around the globe have worked tirelessly with their counterparts across ...

The Port of Jacksonville in northeast Florida moved 204,492 TEUs during the first two months of its fiscal year 2018, which began Oct. 1 2017, compared to 165,571 TEUs during the same period in fiscal year 2017, according to recent data from the Jacksonville Port Authority (JaxPort). This 23 percent increase in volumes is partially due to the port's Asian container volumes rising 13 percent in the first two months of the fiscal year, with over 65,227 TEUs, JaxPort said. The por...

The Shippers Conditions Index, which tracks the changes in major conditions for the U.S. full-truckload freight market, continued to fall in October, reaching a "problematic" reading of -9.6, freight transportation intelligence firm FTR said Dec. 21. “Truck rates, both spot and contract segments, have increased for shippers. This is an immediate reflection of the tight truck market,” FTR explained in its latest report. “After the holiday blitz, tight capacity should ease somewha...

The Port of Savannah moved 309,147 TEUs in November 2017, a 2.8 percent increase from the same month last year, according to statistics released Dec. 21 by the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA). November marked 13 straight months of growth in container trade, GPA data show, with every month in 2017 above 300,000 TEUs the at Savannah’s Garden City Terminal. Additionally, breakbulk tonnage increased 25 percent at Savannah in November to reach 248,500 tons, with lumber, iron and...

The World Container Index, a composite of container freight rates on eight major routes to/from the U.S., Europe and Asia, rose 5 percent this week to $1,195 per 40 ft. container (FEU), according to U.K.-based Drewry Shipping Consultants, which assesses the WCI. Although the composite index is up 5 percent from last week, it’s still down 23 percent compared with the same period in 2016, Drewry data show. The average composite index of the WCI, assessed by Drewry for...

The five major U.S. West Coast container ports – those in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma, and Seattle – collectively handled 5,316 more inbound TEUs in October 2017 than they did in the same month a year ago, a year-over-year gain of just 0.6 percent, according to newly compiled data that was released Dec. 19 by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA). The adjoining Los Angeles and Long Beach ports in Southern California recorded combined growth of 1.2 percen...

The combined year-to-date container volumes for the ports of Seattle and Tacoma through November are up 2 percent compared to the same 11-month period last year, according to data released Dec. 19 by the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), which runs the ports’ marine cargo operations. Year-to-date import volumes increased 1 percent to 1.38 million TEUs during the time period, NWSA statistics show, while exports were up 8 percent at 1.32 million TEUs. Total international contain...

After several years of tepid global trade growth, the North American port sector is booming. So far in 2017—both the calendar year and fiscal year—nearly every major seaport across the United States and Canada has seen massive swells in cargo volume, according to data detailing the ports’ respective container throughputs. A big part of the reason for this is the strengthening of the U.S. economy, which is reflected in higher demand for cargo imports, particularly from Asia. Acco...

South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) moved 163,592 TEUs during November 2017, according to the port’s latest figures. Container volumes for the 2018 fiscal year through November grew 2.5 percent compared to last year, with 886,414 TEUs handled by the Port of Charleston since July, SCPA said. The total number of boxes handled in November equaled 92,329 containers. Fiscal year to date, SCPA has handled 502,063 pier containers, or 2.9 percent more than the...

The Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) inched up 3.3 percent since last Friday’s reading of 703.67 to a reading of 727.14. Spot rates from Shanghai to Europe jumped 6.7 percent since last week, from $751 per TEU to $801 per TEU, while spot rates from Shanghai to the Mediterranean slipped 0.7 percent, from $600 per TEU to $596 per TEU. Meanwhile, spot rates from Shanghai to the U.S. West Coast surged 9.7 percent since last week, ...

The World Container Index (WCI), a composite of container freight rates on eight major routes to and from the U.S., Europe and Asia, fell 2 percent this week to $1,133.96 per 40 ft. container (FEU), according to the latest assessment by Drewry, the UK-based shipping consultancy said Dec. 14. The composite index is down 2 percent this week and down 20 percent from the same period of 2016, statistics show. So far this year, the average composite index of the WCI stan...

Port of Oakland container terminals handled a total of 186,069 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in November, down more than 10,000 containers (5.5 percent) from the 196,980 TEUs the port moved during the same month last year, according to newly released data. The numbers were down nearly across the board for the port in November. As has been the case in recent months, full exports made up the bulk of Oakland’s volume. Port terminals sent about 77,000 loaded TEUs...

Through the first 11 months of 2017, container volumes at the Port of Los Angeles were up 6.3 percent compared to last year’s record-breaking 8.8 million TEUs, according to statistics released by the port Dec. 12. The increased volumes have put the Port of Los Angeles on track to become the first port in North America to ever handle more than 9 million TEUs in a calendar year. In November alone, the port moved over 924,000 TEUs, the most containerized monthly cargo...

A total of 612,659 (TEUs) moved through Port of Long Beach container terminals in November, an increase of 14.7 percent over the same month a year ago, according to data released Dec. 13. Through the first 11 months of the year, Long Beach terminals handled 6.84 million TEUs, a 10 percent increase over the same period in 2016. The port handled a total of 6.77 million TEUs in 2016, meaning that with a month left in 2017, Long Beach has already exceeded the cargo total for the pr...

Port of Houston saw a nine percent increase in cargo volumes in November. Port Houston terminals handled nearly 35 million tons of cargo through November, an increase of 9 percent compared to November 2016, according to the Port of Houston Authority. Executive Director Roger Guenther cited containers and steel imports as the main drivers for the cargo increase. “Steel volumes continue to trend upward, totaling 3.4 million tons, reflecting a 57 percent increase comp...

Port of Felixstowe handled its one millionth TEU by rail. Port of Felixstowe handled its 1 millionth TEU by rail on Wednesday, becoming the first port in the United Kingdom to do so in a single year, according to terminal operator Hutchinson Ports. The record setting cargo was loaded on a Freightliner service to Birmingham, one of the three major rail services out of the port. “This new milestone for the port reflects the dedication of our workforce and the excelle...

The Shanghai Shipping Exchange’s Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) fell 3.9 percent since last Friday's reading of 732.04 to a reading of 703.67, as slight increases from Shanghai to the Europe and Mediterranean trades were not enough to offset declines from Shanghai to the U.S. trades. The SCFI is an estimate of spot rates published each Friday from Shanghai to 15 regions around the world, with the Shanghai to Europe and Mediterranean trades collectively holding a 30 ...

Cargo volumes increased modestly at the Port of Virginia in November. The Port of Virginia handled 240,570 TEUs in November, up 1.9 percent from November 2016, according to data from the Virginia Port Authority (VPA). The port handled 135,469 total containers in November, up 1.7 percent from the same period in 2016. Nearly 20,000 tons of non-containerized breakbulk cargo and more than 6,500 new import cars were processed through the Port of Virginia. “Our TEU...

Port Canaveral is currently in the bidding process to buy a mobile harbor crane with an 18/19 container reach. Total combined U.S. carload and intermodal traffic in November 2017 ticked up 1.5 percent, or 38,587 carloads and intermodal units, from the same month in 2016, according to the Association of American Railroads (AAR). Intermodal rail traffic remains on pace to set a new annual record in 2017, with the last week in November marking the best rail intermodal week in...

The World Container Index, a composite of container freight rates on eight major routes to/from the U.S., Europe and Asia, is up 0.8 percent to $1,157 per 40 ft. container (FEU) compared to last week, but down about 19 percent compared to the same week last year, according to Drewry Shipping Consultants, which gathers and assesses the information for the index. The average composite index of the WCI so far this year stands at $1,473 per FEU, $124 lower than the five-year average...

Air cargo volumes are expecting to increase into 2018. Global airfreight in 2018 is expected to see continued gains in both cargo volumes and profits, according to forecasts from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Global industry net profit is expected to rise to $38.4 billion in 2018, an improvement from the $34.5 billion expected net profit in 2017. Cargo volumes are estimated to increase 4.5 percent to 62.5 million metric tons, compared to the 59.9 million m...